Teaching Profession

The IRS Increased the Teacher Tax Deduction. Will It Help?

By Elizabeth Heubeck — January 20, 2023 1 min read
Image of school supplies
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

It’s tax season. And while this declaration usually comes with a collective groan, K-12 educators have a little something to celebrate on the tax front this year.

For the first time since the Internal Revenue Service enacted the educator expense deduction in 2002, the agency raised it from $250 to $300 for the current tax filing season. But the deduction remains far less than what many teachers spend on out-of-pocket classroom and related expenses annually.

Classroom teachers use around $550 of their own money each year—and nearly 1 in 5 spends upwards of $1,000—to provide their students with basic supplies, according to data from savings.com. Financial experts and educators agree: Even with this year’s increase, the deduction falls short.

“The amount is just so small, it’s a joke,” said Pauline Stavrou, a tax attorney for Frost Tax Law in Baltimore.

Austin Ambrose hadn’t heard about the increased deduction until he was asked for his thoughts on the bump. “It just goes to show you it’s not being discussed,” said Ambrose, an elementary education teacher-turned-dean of students at Forge International School, a public charter school in Middleton, Idaho.

The increase wasn’t the only aspect of the deduction that Ambrose, who is also an advocacy fellow for the Association of American Educators, was unaware of. “I did not know about the [original] teacher deduction until a peer mentioned it,” he said.

“It would be nice if school districts provided financial training and information for teachers,” Ambrose said. Just 22 years old when he entered the profession in 2017, Ambrose recalls having very little understanding of how personal taxes work when he first began his career.

Ambrose said that, as a new classroom teacher just out of college, he would search during tax season for receipts as proof of the money he had spent on his classroom. “As time went on, I knew I was always exceeding the deduction limit,” said Ambrose, who estimates that, as a classroom teacher until 2021, he sometimes spent more than $500 annually on classroom expenses.

Reflecting on the new tax deduction, Ambrose said: “When it comes to the expense teachers put into their classrooms, it’s a small drop in the bucket.”

What to know about the maximum educator expense deduction

Who qualifies? K-12 educators who work a minimum of 900 hours during the school year, including:
Teachers

Instructors

Counselors

Principals

Aides
What’s deductible?
Books, supplies, and other materials used in the classroom

Technology equipment for classroom use: computers, software, and services

COVID-19 protective items: face masks, disinfectant, hand soap, hand sanitizer, disposable gloves, tape, paint or chalk to guide social distancing, physical barriers (clear plexiglass, air purifiers, and other related items recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Source: IRS

A version of this article appeared in the February 08, 2023 edition of Education Week as The IRS Increased the Teacher Tax Deduction. Will It Help?

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Profession The State of Teaching 'You Don't Know Teacher Tired': Educators Sound Off on Misconceptions
Hear what teachers featured in EdWeek's The State of Teaching Project say makes their jobs more difficult.
Frank Rivera teaches 7th grade ELA at Chaparral Star Academy in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 15, 2023.
Frank Rivera teaches 7th grade ELA at Chaparral Star Academy in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 15, 2023.
Montinique Monroe for Education Week
Teaching Profession Opinion Why I’m Happy Being ‘Just a Teacher’
Not every teacher is an aspiring administrator. That’s a good thing.
Amanda Myers
3 min read
Abstract vector illustration depicting the process of teaching and learning.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Teaching Profession What the Research Says Do Teachers Really Earn More After Leaving the Classroom? Not Necessarily
Nearly a decade after leaving a big urban district, many teachers have yet to recoup income, a study finds.
4 min read
Illustration of woman and steps made of cash.
Getty
Teaching Profession The State of Teaching Here's What Keeps Teachers on the Job
Hear why these teachers stay in the job, despite its challenges and lower pay.
Fourth graders do a warm up dance at the beginning of Helen Chan's math class at South Loop Elementary School on November 15, 2023, in Chicago.
Fourth graders do a warm-up dance at the beginning of Helen Chan's math class at South Loop Elementary School on Nov. 15, 2023, in Chicago.
Jamie Kelter Davis for Education Week